By the 22nd century, Mars had been colonised by humans, who, according to one account, pushed the native Ice Warriors into poverty. (PROSE: Fear Itself) Another account claimed that humanity had colonised Mars unimpeded when — in the words of Harold — after "something to do with T-Mat on the Moon", "centuries" before the 23rd century, a whole fleet of Ice Warriors were — according to what Gregson Grenville had learnt in school — "all melted when their invasion fleet spiralled into the sun".

According to another account, the Tenth Doctor described the Ice Warriors as "legends on Mars from long ago" after the first off-world human colony was founded on Mars in 2058. (TV: The Waters of Mars)

Ostensibly because of this penchant to imagine Mars as a likely source of alien life, some humans occasionally misidentified other species for Martians, just as Donna had done with the Tenth Doctor. (TV: The Runaway Bride)